Aug. 23, 2012
Full Notes Package in PDF Format
2012 Notre Dame Women’s Soccer — Matches 2-3
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0-1-0 / 0-0-0 BIG EAST) vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (1-0-0 / 0-0-0 C-USA)
DATE: August 24, 2012
TIME: 7:30 p.m. CT/8:30 p.m. ET
AT: Tulsa, Okla. – Hurricane Soccer Stadium (2,000)
SERIES: ND leads 2-0-0
1ST MTG: ND 2-0 (9/1/00 @ND)
LAST MTG: ND 7-1 (9/2/11 @ND)
LIVE STATS:
TWITTER: @NDsoccernews
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0-1-0 / 0-0-0 BIG EAST) vs. East Carolina Pirates (1-1-0 / 0-0-0 C-USA)
DATE: August 26, 2012
TIME: 1:00 p.m. ET
AT: Notre Dame, Ind. – Alumni Stadium (3,007)
SERIES: First meeting
WEBCAST: UND.com (live-free)
LIVE STATS:
TWITTER: @NDsoccernews
TICKETS: UND.com/tickets/(574) 631-7356
Storylines
- Notre Dame will be playing in the state of Oklahoma for the second time in program history, both in the past three seasons.
- The Fighting Irish are 11-1-1 (.885) in home openers since head coach Randy Waldrum arrived on campus in 1999.
Fighting Irish Visit Tulsa Friday, Open Home Slate Sunday Against East Carolina
One week after a narrow and hard-fought loss in its season opener, Notre Dame returns to action this weekend, traveling to Tulsa on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. CT (8:30 p.m. ET) match, before returning to Alumni Stadium for its 2012 home opener at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday against East Carolina. The latter contest will be webcast live and free of charge on the official Fighting Irish athletics web site, UND.com.
Notre Dame (0-1) did much of what it wanted on opening night at Wisconsin, but the Badgers capitalized on their lone shot on goal of the second half (and just one of two in the match) to post a 1-0 victory on Aug. 17 in Madison, Wis. The Fighting Irish held the upper hand in all statistical categories, including shots (12-8), shots on goal (7-2) and corner kicks (5-2), but ended up with their first season-opening loss since 1999.
Freshman goalkeeper Elyse Hight, one of seven rookies in Notre Dame’s opening-night lineup, registered one save in her college debut, while sophomore midfielder Karin Simonian had a team-high five shots for the Fighting Irish.
Rankings
- Notre Dame is not ranked.
- Tulsa is not ranked.
- East Carolina is not ranked.
A Quick Look At The Fighting Irish
- The Fighting Irish were picked to win the BIG EAST National Division title according to a preseason vote of the conference head coaches released Aug. 7. Notre Dame has won 13 BIG EAST regular-season titles (division or overall) since joining the conference 17 years ago, including regular-season crowns in eight of the past nine years.
- Junior midfielder/tri-captain Mandy Laddish represented the Fighting Irish on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, following up her second-team all-conference selection a year ago. Laddish had one goal and a career-high seven assists last season.
- Notre Dame will feature a very young roster in 2012, with nearly half (12) of the 25-member Fighting Irish squad made up of freshmen (plus another six sophomores). The Notre Dame incoming class is ranked No. 1 in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer, with seven of the 12 Fighting Irish freshmen appearing in the top 60 of the Top Drawer Soccer Class of 2012 rankings. Leading the rookie class for Notre Dame is forward/midfielder/defender Cari Roccaro, a two-time consensus high school All-American and New York High School Player of the Year after piling up 39 goals and 19 assists during her prep career.
- Laddish and Roccaro will miss the first three weeks of the regular season after both were named to the 2012 United States Under-20 Women’s National Team that will compete in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Aug. 19-Sept. 8 in Japan. The Fighting Irish duo are the first Notre Dame players to participate in the U-20 World Cup since 2008, when Lauren Fowlkes started all six matches and helped the United States earn the gold medal.
Scouting Tulsa
Tulsa began its season last Friday with a 3-0 victory at home over Weber State. Senior forward Rebecca Handley scored twice as part of a three-goal flurry in the opening 16 minutes for the Golden Hurricane. Senior defender Claire Hulcer had two assists, while junior forward Claire Nicholson got Tulsa on the board with a goal in the sixth minute. Senior goalkeeper Katie Bykowski made three saves and subsequently was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week.
Head coach Kyle Cussen is in his fifth season at Tulsa with a 34-36-10 (.488) record. Factoring in his previous tenure at Oral Roberts from 1998-2007, Cussen has a 15-year career mark of 144-110-25 (.561), including an 0-1 record vs. Notre Dame.
The Notre Dame-Tulsa Series
Notre Dame and Tulsa will be meeting for the third time and the second in as many seasons. The Fighting Irish are 2-0-0 all-time against the Golden Hurricane, winning 2-0 on Sept 1, 2000, at old Alumni Field, and 7-1 last year at Alumni Stadium.
The Last Time Notre Dame And Tulsa Met
Melissa Henderson and Mandy Laddish each had a goal and two assists, sparking No. 10/7 Notre Dame to a 7-1 win over Tulsa on Sept. 2, 2011, on the opening night of the Notre Dame adidas Invitational at Alumni Stadium. The seven goals not only set a new tournament record, but also were the most scored by the Fighting Irish in a single match since the 2008 season opener (a 7-0 win over Michigan at old Alumni Field).
Jessica Schuveiller, Rebecca Twining, Adriana Leon (2) and Ellen Jantsch also scored goals for the Fighting Irish, with Twining becoming the third Notre Dame player in as many matches to score her first career goal.
Notre Dame outshot Tulsa by a 39-4 margin, as the Fighting Irish piled up their largest shot total since Aug. 27, 2000 (49 shots vs. Detroit). In addition, Notre Dame collected a 16-2 edge in shots on goal and earned all four corner kicks in the match. Goalkeeper Sarah Voigt worked the first 45 minutes and did not make a save while claiming her first collegiate win, while Maddie Fox played the entire second half and made one save.
Rachel Garcia scored the lone goal for the Golden Hurricane just six seconds into the match, but it would be the lone bright spot for Tulsa during the night. Goalkeeper Katie Bykowski was busy throughout the evening, registering nine saves.
Other Notre Dame-Tulsa Series Tidbits
- Notre Dame head coach Randy Waldrum is no stranger to the Tulsa campus, having spent six seasons (1989-94) as the head coach of both the Golden Hurricane men’s and women’s soccer programs. During his time at Tulsa, Waldrum amassed a 127-69-15 (.637) combined record with the two teams (66-33-6 men, 61-36-9 women), leading the 1991 Golden Hurricane men’s team to the Missouri Valley Conference title (Waldrum was MVC Coach of the Year) and the first NCAA Championship appearance in school history. Waldrum’s 1991 Tulsa squad was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.
- Waldrum also served as the coach for the Oklahoma Olympic Development Program (ODP) men’s team while he was at Tulsa.
- Freshman goalkeeper Elyse Hight is the first player in the 25-year history of the Notre Dame women’s soccer program to come from the state of Oklahoma. Fighting Irish players now have matriculated from 33 different states, three Canadian provinces and three foreign countries to play at Notre Dame during the program’s quarter century of existence.
- Notre Dame is making its second-ever trip to the state of Oklahoma. On Nov. 26, 2010, the Fighting Irish defeated Oklahoma State, 2-0, in Stillwater in an NCAA quarterfinal match, going on to win their third national championship nine days later. Current Notre Dame junior midfielder/tri-captain (and then-freshman) Elizabeth Tucker scored both goals for the Fighting Irish in that victory.
Scouting East Carolina
East Carolina (1-1) comes to town Sunday after earning a 1-0 home victory over Old Dominion Wednesday night in Greenville, N.C. Freshman forward Kendall Frey scored her first collegiate goal in the 70th minute, finishing off a cross from sophomore defender Kelly Miller for the match-winning tally.
The Pirates fell 2-1 in extra time in their season opener at Campbell on Aug. 17. Redshirt sophomore midfielder Lexi Miller evened the score for ECU with a goal in the 67th minute, converting an assist from redshirt senior defender Rachel Fuller, but the Fighting Camels pulled out the victory with a golden goal at 98:41.
Head coach Rob Donnenwirth is in his 14th season at the helm of East Carolina, and has compiled a 128-96-32 (.563) mark with the Pirates. He will be coaching against Notre Dame for the first time this weekend.
The Notre Dame-East Carolina Series
Sunday will mark the first time Notre Dame and East Carolina have met on the soccer pitch.
Other Notre Dame-East Carolina Series Tidbits
- East Carolina is the lone first-time opponent on Notre Dame’s 2012 schedule. Since 1993, the Fighting Irish are 55-4-1 (.925) against new visitors to South Bend, most recently defeating New Mexico, 3-0, on Nov. 12, 2010, at Alumni Stadium in the first round of the NCAA Championship (the first step on Notre Dame’s road to its third national championship).
Notre Dame vs. Conference USA
Notre Dame is 5-3 (.625) all-time against the current Conference USA alignment, including a 4-0 record at home (1-2 on the road, 0-1 at neutral sites).
Friday’s match at Tulsa will mark the first time the Fighting Irish have visited a C-USA campus since Sept. 10, 2006, when they posted a 3-0 win at SMU behind a pair of goals from eventual Hermann Trophy recipient Kerri Hanks.
Our Fearless Leader
Now in his 14th season at Notre Dame, head coach Randy Waldrum ranks fourth on the NCAA Division I career winning percentage list with a .780 (370-95-26) mark in his 23 years in the women’s game. He also is second among active coaches for career winning percentage, while his 370 career wins rank fifth on the all-time NCAA Division I charts — Waldrum earned his 350th career victory on Oct. 3, 2010, vs. St. John’s at Alumni Stadium.
A two-time National Coach of the Year (2009 by Soccer America, 2010 by NSCAA), Waldrum has led Notre Dame to eight NCAA College Cups, five NCAA finals and two national championships (2004 and 2010). He also is second in NCAA Division I history with eight College Cup appearances and five title-match berths in his storied career.
The 2-0 Guarantee
Notre Dame is 332-0-1 all-time when claiming a 2-0 lead and has won its last 309 contests when going ahead 2-0 (since a 3-3 draw with Vanderbilt on Sept. 15, 1991, in Cincinnati).
In fact, just two of the past 221 Fighting Irish opponents to face a 2-0 deficit have forced a draw, something achieved by four opponents in Notre Dame history: Duke on Oct. 17, 1993, in Houston (ND won 3-2), Connecticut on Nov. 10, 1996, in the BIG EAST final at old Alumni Field (ND led 2-0, later tied 2-2 and 3-3, ND won 4-3), Duke on Nov. 30, 2007, in the NCAA quarterfinals at old Alumni Field (ND won 3-2), and most recently, Villanova on Oct. 12, 2008 in Villanova, Pa. (ND won 3-2 in OT).
Three … Is The Magic Number
Scoring three goals has meant virtually an automatic win in Notre Dame women’s soccer history, with a 303-3-1 (.989) record in those games, including a 205-1-0 (.995) mark since Oct. 6, 1995.
Golden Domers Golden In OT
Overtime has usually been the right time for Notre Dame, as the Fighting Irish are 20-6-14 (.675) all-time in the Randy Waldrum era (since 1999) when going to an extra period or two. Notre Dame also is unbeaten in 12 of its last 15 overtime contests.
Last year, the Fighting Irish tied a pair of school records by going to extra time on five occasions (also in 2001 and 2007) and registering three draws (also in 1991 and 2001).
No current Notre Dame player has scored a “golden goal” in her college career. Jessica Schuveiller netted the most recent overtime matchwinner for the Fighting Irish on Nov. 6, 2009, heading home a cross from Rose Augustin at 98:42 to beat St. John’s in the BIG EAST semifinals at Storrs, Conn.
Next Up: adidas Invitational
Notre Dame is back home next weekend for the 20th annual adidas Invitational at Alumni Stadium. The Fighting Irish will take on No. 25/21 Santa Clara at 7:30 p.m. (ET) Aug. 31, before playing host to No. 14/19 North Carolina at 1 p.m. (ET) Sept. 2. Notre Dame’s fellow BIG EAST Conference member, Connecticut, rounds out the four-team tournament field.
The Fighting Irish are 31-5-2 (.842) all-time in their home tournament, earning 14 titles (including the past two and three of the last four) while compiling a 108-38 scoring margin in the four-team classic that debuted in 1992.
— ND —